NARCONON BLOG

NARCONON REVIEWS

What If We Succeed?

No matter what the drug—when I took it, bought it, prepared it or used it—I knew that what I was doing was inherently wrong. But, that didn’t stop me.

DRUG REHABILITATION

Intervention 101: Hiring a Professional Interventionist

A lot of families ask me, “if we can’t get our loved one to go to treatment, why should we believe a stranger would do any better?”

DRUG REHABILITATION

The Difference Between a Reason and an Excuse

They say the difference between a reason and an excuse is which side of the table you’re sitting at. Reasons for putting off doing an intervention are easy to come up with: doctors’ appointments, court dates, weddings, vacations, “let’s wait and...

DRUG REHABILITATION

Drugs Are Not the Real Problem

If drugs or alcohol were an addict’s fundamental problem, recovery would be easy. Simply detox the person and you’re done! But—that isn’t how it works.

DRUG REHABILITATION

Intervention 101: Finding the Correct Information

In your preparation for doing an intervention, you are bound to get advice about how an intervention should be done, but be forewarned: A family member, friend or someone you met at a support group who’s been involved in one or two interventions isn’t...

DRUG INFORMATION

Fentanyl and Amnesia: Yet Another Dangerous Result of Addiction

Being addicted to an opioid is bad enough. There’s the risk of overdose and withdrawal sickness is always a threat. Now, add amnesia to the list of problems that can result from overdosing on fentanyl.

DRUG INFORMATION

Marijuana and Children: Household Pot Use Can Result in Detectable Levels of THC in Kids

How many marijuana-using parents think their children might test positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)? Through use by pregnant or nursing women, exposure to secondhand smoke or from picking up edibles around the house, children can be exposed to plenty...

DRUG REHABILITATION

Intervention 101: Handling Objections

Most families go into an intervention knowing there will be objections, but with no real plan on how to handle them. The key is in the word, ”plan.” The simplicity of it is this—an addict will object, so plan to handle the objections.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

While Other Substance Abuse Trends Amongst Teens Fall, Prescription Drug Abuse Skyrockets

Since the turn of the century, drug abuse and alcoholism have more or less reduced amongst young adult, teen, and adolescent age demographics. This is something to be proud of, as the 1980s and 1990s saw some of the worst substance abuse habits amongst...

ADDICTION

Random Tests in Schools—Valid Strategy or Invasion of Privacy?

As drug use has become more prevalent amongst young people, a proposed solution to the problem has also brought on a huge controversy. This is the proposed solution of using random drug tests in schools . Drug testing occurs just about everywhere else.

DRUG INFORMATION

The Ever-Changing World of Deadly Drugs and Addiction

In the world of drug use and addiction, only one thing is certain: This world will never stop changing. New drugs will appear and old ones will fade away. Supply and demand will ebb and flow. The only way to stay safe and protect your family is to stay...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Dental Association Joins Fight Against Opioid Epidemic, Guess They Finally Got the Memo

Another major national organization has just joined the fight against America’s opioid epidemic. The American Dental Association advised its members on the steps they should take so their patients are not exposed to opioid painkillers, reducing the chance...

DRUG INFORMATION

Rat Poison and Synthetic Marijuana—A Bloody Mess

Anyone using synthetic drugs is running an incredible risk because there’s no telling what chemicals—deadly or otherwise—those drugs will contain. In Illinois, dozens of unlucky people began bleeding from eyes, noses, mouths and other parts of the...

ADDICTION

14 Things to Do During Alcohol Awareness Month

Maybe you’re accustomed to kicking back with your friends and having a few beers over the weekend. But this month, how about participating in Alcohol Awareness Month sponsored by the National Council on Alcoholism and Alcohol Dependence.

DRUG REHABILITATION

Bottom’s Up

Some people say an addict or alcoholic who is in denial hasn’t hit bottom, but this concept is very problematic when applied to real-life. First, there is no such place as “bottom.” It’s an abstract idea.

DRUG REHABILITATION

What Is an Intervention?

An intervention is any action or actions which result in an addict arriving at a well-chosen program. I include, “well-chosen,” because, without a program that has a good chance of success in place, an intervention is of little or no value.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

When Corporations Abandon Social Responsibility, Our Children Suffer

In an idle moment, I found a new television series featuring three young male housekeepers who encounter terrorist challenges to overcome. In minutes, the show made it look like a great idea to stop smoking pot and start smoking the hallucinogen salvia....

ADDICTION

Is It Even Worth Talking to Teens About Drugs?

Parents face a veritable plethora of challenges and scrutiny when it comes to raising their kids. This scrutiny comes from their kids, from other parents or peers, and from the parents themselves. Sometimes, it can seem like there is no right answer here,...

DRUG REHABILITATION

The Truth About Denial

Many believe that if an addict does not admit to having a problem, he does not know he has a problem. We are taught to see this as a lack of self-awareness on the part of the addict. I can assure you, it is not. It’s simpler than that.

DRUG REHABILITATION

How Do We Get Him to Admit He Needs Help?

When I began working as an interventionist, I found that many families believed they needed to get their addict to admit to needing help before treatment will work. This may sound logical but as an to me it’s always been puzzling.